The Rain-Powered Cart

Abstract

A frictionless cart in the shape of a right triangle (with the vertical side forward) is elastically impacted by vertically falling raindrops. The speed of the cart as a function of time can be analytically deduced as an exercise in the use of trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. A characteristic time defines the approach to a terminal speed which is a sizeable fraction of the speed of the rain. The treatment is accessible to a student in a calculus-based mechanics course.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 05, 2016
Accession Number
AD1016858

Entities

People

  • Carl E. Mungan
  • Trevor C. Lipscombe

Organizations

  • United States Naval Academy

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Collisions
  • Electronic Mail
  • Energy
  • Equations
  • Identities
  • Integrals
  • Mathematics
  • Physical Properties
  • Rain
  • Raindrops
  • Rainfall
  • Renewable Energy
  • Specific Gravity
  • Terminals
  • United States Naval Academy

Readers

  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Military/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technology